Durham County
LANGUAGE
The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000
|
|
1990 |
|
2000 |
|
|
Number |
Percent |
Number |
Percent |
Only English |
159,370 |
94.35% |
179,173 |
86.14% |
Spanish |
3,023 |
1.79% |
17,068 |
8.21% |
Other Indo-European* |
3,667 |
2.17% |
6,099 |
2.93% |
Asian Language** |
2,048 |
1.21% |
3,985 |
1.92% |
Other |
804 |
0.48% |
1,669 |
0.80% |
Total Population Age 5+ |
168,912 |
100.00% |
207,994 |
100.00% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
11,043 |
64.70% |
Other Indo-European* |
1,502 |
24.63% |
Asian Language** |
1,306 |
32.77% |
Other Language |
417 |
24.99% |
Total |
14,268 |
6.86% |
Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
|
Language Spoken at Home: |
Number |
Percent |
Spanish |
1,017 |
33.64% |
Other Indo-European* |
962 |
26.23% |
Asian Language** |
994 |
48.54% |
Other Language |
194 |
24.13% |
Total |
3,167 |
1.87% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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